Saints In China! - Days 1, 2, and 3

(Note: The China Trip seems to be having trouble with their internet connections, but they have forwarded an entry and a few pictures along to me to post.  Jennifer Varghese wrote this entry.)

Day1: After a long 15 hour flight, we arrived in Bejing met with jetlag and smog which were both unrelenting. Most of us were dead on the inside and could barely tow our luggage. The Hostel we are staying in is really cool and unlike what you would expect to see in the states. Some of us are un-used to the hostel environment but are adjusting to it. After settling in, we went to our first dinner. We ate many new foods and we learned how to use chopsticks.

Day 2: Our first day we woke up with an incredible amount of jet lag and had a western style breakfast that morning. We were bussed to Tiananmen square where we beheld the largest square in the world and the iconic forbidden palace. First we went to Tiananmen square which was a sight to behold but we all could shake the looming feeling of the prying eyes of the government and their hundreds of cameras overlooking the square. Next we went to the Forbidden Palace which, again, was unreal for all of us and is hard to describe in words. Then we had lunch at a local family home, in the Hutong area. We are all having a great time experiencing such a different environment. Here are some of the pictures. We finished the day with a traditional Beijing (or Peking) Duck dinner, complete with roasted duck feet.

Day 3: We woke up, like all days at 7ish, and had a delicious traditional eastern style breakfast. Later we were bussed to the great wall of China where we hiked, for what felt like forever and most of us at the end were sore and very tired. The view was very nice except for the smog that covered most of the mountains. Next, we made a quick stop at the 2008 Olympic center. While we did not go inside we did see the central stadium and the aquatic center, called, the Water Cube. Our next destination that day was the summer palace which was a temporary residence of the emperor of china outside of Beijing. We topped off the day with a traditional Chinese meal in Beijing. Fun!